Some Epstein Survivors' Identities Appear Unredacted In Files Released By Doj

The Justice Department vowed to protect nan identities of women who were preyed connected by nan precocious activity offender Jeffrey Epstein, but survivors said nan latest merchandise of Epstein files has near galore of them exposed and their lives turned “upside down.”

The DOJ did a slapdash occupation of redacting their individual accusation from nan avalanche of investigative files released Friday and moreover outed nan personality of astatine slightest 1 female who had not antecedently travel guardant pinch maltreatment allegations, lawyers representing nan survivors said.

Survivor Danielle Bensky said that what she thought were confidential conversations pinch FBI investigators astir Epstein were included successful nan latest archive dump.

And lawyers representing nan women opportunity that earlier nan DOJ released nan latest batch of investigative files, nan women had been assured that location would beryllium nary repetition of nan “privacy violations” that happened nan first 2 times nan authorities released Epstein-related documents.

“That anticipation was shattered connected January 30, 2026, erstwhile DOJ committed what whitethorn beryllium nan azygous astir egregious usurpation of unfortunate privateness successful 1 time successful United States history,” attorneys Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards wrote Sunday successful a missive to nan judges overseeing nan merchandise of nan Epstein files.

Bensky, who was a teenage ballerina erstwhile she said Epstein abused her 2 decades ago, doesn’t judge that was an accident.

“I thought it was carelessness, and past I went to incompetence,” Bensky told NBC News. “And now it feels, it feels a spot deliberate. It feels for illustration a spot of an onslaught connected survivors.”

Friday’s archive dump comes after 2 earlier Epstein record releases and included much than 3.5 cardinal pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. Bensky is hoping that pinch each of these files being released that those associated pinch Epstein will beryllium investigated.

“The full extremity of this was to expose nan men successful powerfulness who took advantage of each of these young girls,” Bensky said.

But she went connected to opportunity location are still a batch of files to spell through. “We spot who needs to beryllium investigated … now we request to clasp them to account,” Bensky said.

Henderson and Edwards, who correspond immoderate 300 Epstein survivors, revenge a petition Sunday for contiguous judicial involution pinch Judges Richard M. Berman and Paul A. Engelmayer of nan U.S. District Court for nan Southern District of New York.

The DOJ “has possessed nan names of victims that it promised to redact for months,” they wrote. The lawyers went connected to opportunity that a “simple sanction search” of nan searchable database could person prevented this from happening. “A elemental sanction hunt would person prevented this entirely. Yet moreover now, aft 48 hours of seeking further redaction, thousands of pages stay unredacted successful nan nationalist domain.”

The lawyers demanded, among different things, an “immediate takedown of nan DOJ website hosting Epstein materials” and nan assignment of a typical maestro “to oversee redaction and republication.”

“For nan victims of Jeffrey Epstein, each hr matters,” nan missive states. “The harm is ongoing and irreversible. This Court is nan past statement of defense for victims who were promised protection and alternatively were exposed. Judicial involution is not simply due — it is essential.”

The DOJ, successful a tribunal filing Monday, said it was successful nan process of “removing documents that inadvertently were produced and incorporate victim-identifying information.”

“The Department has worked each hours done nan play from nan constituent erstwhile nan first victim-related concerns were raised,” it said. “The Department now has taken down respective thousands of documents and media that whitethorn person inadvertently included victim-identifying accusation owed to various factors, including method aliases quality error.”

For immoderate of nan Epstein accusers, nan DOJ’s belated redactions whitethorn beryllium excessively late.

“I person ne'er travel forward!” Jane Doe 5 said successful nan petition for judicial involution revenge connected Sunday. “I americium now being harassed by nan media and others. This is devastating to my life .... Please propulsion my sanction down instantly arsenic each infinitesimal that these archive pinch my sanction are up, it causes much harm to me.”

Jane Doe 4 said she was being inundated pinch “disgusting messages” and Jane Does 7 and 8 said they person received decease threats since Friday.

“You moreover had nan audacity to merchandise my backstage banking info and [I]am now trying to unopen down cards and accounts,” Jane Doe 8 wrote. “This benignant of vicious onslaught connected a unfortunate astatine nan hands of nan ‘Department of Justice’ is an abomination.”

Jane Doe 1 called herself nan unfortunate of a “vendetta.”

“It is truthful incorrect connected truthful galore levels,” Jane Doe 3 wrote. “Not only it exposes victims to imaginable maltreatment aliases blackmail, but it tin ruin families aliases harm our careers. I americium horrified.”

In November, Berman had requested a elaborate explanation of nan materials nan authorities intended to merchandise and an mentation of really it would safeguard nan privateness of survivors, including done redactions.

Berman did truthful aft nan House Oversight Committee caused “widespread panic” among nan survivors aft it released much than 20,000 documents related to Epstein and dozens of survivors’ names appeared unredacted.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday that nan documents released that time constituted astir half of nan much than six cardinal Epstein-related documents nan DOJ collected.

The DOJ, however, was expected to move complete almost each of unclassified Epstein documents by December arsenic required by nan Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into rule by President Donald Trump connected Nov. 19.

Bensky criticized nan truth that nan DOJ withheld millions of pages of worldly that it obtained and that immoderate of nan documents appeared to person not been decently redacted. Blanche said Friday that nan documents withheld fell into categories that were permitted nether nan Act to beryllium withheld, including aesculapian files, depictions of kid pornography and different delicate materials.

“It conscionable feels for illustration specified a slap successful nan look to survivors,” Bensky said.